Johnny Hallyday: how Catherine Deneuve saved him, in secret, after a suicide attempt: Femme Actuelle Le MAG

"Deneuve and Johnny: the secret story", title Paris Match in its edition of Thursday June 4, 2020. “Revelations on a thunderbolt that lasted fifty years.” The paper revisits the special relationship of the two artists and the flawless support that the actress offered to the rocker. It all started with a meeting in 1961, on the set of Parisian, by Marc Allégret. In Lady Lucille, Gilles Lhotte talks about this "Passion woven from absences and reunions." According to the biographer, she would therefore be the mysterious Lady Lucille. A code name “That Hallyday gave to Deneuve in Destroy, his Memoirs written with the journalist ”, as reported Paris Match. Very quickly, a special relationship is born between them.

"He immediately falls in love with her"

"On set, the 18-year-old boy only has eyes for the actress. He immediately falls in love with her. Who, conversely, succumbs to the charm of the rocker ”, notes the magazine. “Dumbfounded, [Roger] Vadim is witnessing the emergence of this story. But even if it caused the spark [He is the one who advises Marc Allégret, during a dinner, to opt for Johnny Hallyday to give the reply to his protege, note.], he doesn't want to be the stuffing turkey. When he summons Catherine to explain himself about this romance which the cinema, which the press begins to seize, she sends him to wander, leaving forever to cast doubt on the exact nature of his feelings for Johnny. But, for the time being, the singer is no longer part of his perimeter. " And here is the drama. "When the rocker learns it, he decides, quite simply, to fuck himself up", continue our colleagues. "Driving on the western highway at the wheel of his racing car, he drives all the way in the foolish hope of dying like his idol James Dean. Fate decides otherwise: a stupid shortage of gas prevents him from carrying out his fatal project. "

Present "every day" after his suicide attempt

It’s not the only time Johnny will try to kill himself. But from now on, Catherine Deneuve will be there. And for good reason, Johnny will confide, later: “Catherine Deneuve is the great love of my 18th birthday. For us, time has stood still for more than one night. We are friends for life. Now she is the Deneuve who lights up international cinema. But for me, she is Catherine forever […] I fell in love with her the very day I met her. " Missed opportunities, desire to preserve their friendship … What does it matter. They swear loyalty, in their own way. “Johnny and Catherine signed a pact. A heart pact. A pact of love. Yes, they will always be there for each other. When Johnny wanted Catherine, she was not free. Now he's the one who isn't anymore. " So when Johnny Hallyday attempted suicide again, in September 1966, almost a month after the birth of her son David, Catherine Deneuve came to see him in secret at the hospital. “Every day, through backdoors, at improbable hours, she is there. To see him smile ”, relates Paris Match, before wondering. “Without Catherine's presence, would he have had the courage to live? He is no longer there to answer. ”

Read also : Johnny Hallyday and Catherine Deneuve: the revelations on "Lady Lucille", a well-kept romance